Nyack, NY – The Nyack College Women’s Soccer Team completed their preseason scrimmage schedule on Monday afternoon with a solid performance versus City College of New York.  From the opening whistle the Warriors were able to control the flow of play despite the players from CCNY playing with much heart and desire.

“This was a mixed bag of goods in regards to our performance,” commented Nyack Head Coach Bill Findley.  “While we were able to possess the ball well most of the match, we still were very inconsistent in terms of our technical ability and anticipating where we needed to be in order to dictate play.”

“However, we learned a lot about ourselves once again which, in the long run, will serve us very well in the future as we now turn our full attention toward the beginning of the regular season.”

4 different Nyack players scored with Amanda Carter notching a hat-trick for the first time in her college career.  Alisha Smith put away 2 goals while Evany Brown and Jennifer Jordan added a goal apiece.

“Amanda has struggled a bit with her confidence during the preseason so I was very pleased to see A.C. break out of her slump and create opportunities for herself.  She played unselfishly the entire match which benefitted her greatly in the end.”

“With our success during the early preseason scrimmages we must not lose sight of the fact that it is only going to get tougher from here as we now will be stepping on the pitch and trying to compete against teams that are potentially significantly stronger than we are at this point in time.  It is imperative that we keep working to define who we are and allow our true personality to develop as the season continues.  The kids are extremely motivated to get this done and to earn the respect of our competition.”

The Warriors open their regular season on the road this Thursday in Easton, MA versus Stonehill College.

“Without a doubt, Stonehill College is an extremely talented program, very well coached and loaded with experienced veterans.  If we don’t show up and play then we will have a long day ahead of us for sure.  It will be a great learning environment for us and we are all looking forward to seeing how we measure up to this highly respected program.”   In related news Nyack College Head Women’s Soccer Coach Bill Findley announced the selection of the 2010 Team Captains and Team Chaplain.

Junior Jennifer Jordan was chosen to serve as the Team Chaplain which is a position that is vital to the overall spiritual growth and development of the Team, according to Coach Findley. 

“There is no question that JJ will be a major influence on each life in our women’s soccer program.  She is a dynamic leader on and off the field and will help keep me sensitive to the spiritual needs and pulse of our Team.  She has embraced this role with enthusiasm and passion and will begin putting some pieces in place to address this vital component of our program.”

Senior Alisha Smith was selected by Findley to serve as the Team Captain, while fellow Seniors Shannon McNeely and Brianna Meyers as Co-Captains.

“I am fortunate as a Head Coach to have 3 outstanding Seniors who are solid leaders with each bringing a different dimension and attitude toward my expectations of what their Captain roles can and should be.  Alisha is undoubtedly the heart and soul of our Team.  As Alisha goes….so goes our Team.  She is a very tough, hard-core competitor who I am depending on to blaze a trail for our Team to follow.  It is a tall order for sure but I am confident in her abilities to carry us on her shoulders this season.”

Findley believes just as strongly in McNeely and Meyers.  “Mac and Bri offer us so many positives with their very unique and different styles of leadership.  Shannon is more of a ‘what you see is what you get’, out-spoken type of leader, while Bri brings a softer, gentler behind-the-scenes type of DNA to her role.  Both have demonstrated to me over the past several weeks that they will be dependable, loyal Co-Captains who will unhesitatingly support our vision for the program.  I couldn’t ask for any more than that!”

The Lady Warriors open their 2010 regular season on the road this Thursday in Easton, MA versus Stonehill College.    

Tune into http://www.pennatlantic.com/ for the live stream against City College of New York.

Nyack, NY – The Nyack College Women’s Soccer team competed well on Saturday afternoon versus a worthy opponent in Medgar Evers College.  Both teams came out with ambition and heart and played tirelessly after several weeks of arduous preseason training.   “We started a bit sluggish at first but slowly came around to controlling the flow of play as the match progressed,” reflected Head Coach Bill Findley.  “Medgar Evers gave us all we wanted during the first half and our kids struggled at times to adjust to the level of play.  While we felt confident heading into the match it became apparent to our players that the kids from Medgar Evers were just as confident and wanted a solid result.”   Seven different players scored with Alisha Smith leading the way with her first hat-trick of the preseason.    “I believe strongly in what we are doing and the system we are working to put in place,” Findley offered.  “However, with that being said, we have so much further to go and the kids must continue to buy-in to the vision I am casting regarding what it is going to take in order for us to be successful during the run of the season and during our conference play.  I am certainly no fool or naïve enough to believe that if we play like we did today it will be enough to strike fear in the heart of any of our opponents.  The ladies recognize that as well and are more resolved than ever to work harder and smarter in order to accomplish the goals we have set out before us.”   Findley continued, “I am really looking forward to getting back on the field come Monday afternoon and see if we can build on what we experienced Saturday afternoon and put some more pieces in place which will allow us to compete and battle with every team on our schedule in a way that will earn respect and help improve the culture of our women’s soccer program here at Nyack.  I love what I am seeing in regards to the heart and soul of my kids.  But, we must continue to focus on being more technically sound and tactically aware if we are to be recognized as a serious competitor.”   The Lady Warriors lace it back up on Monday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. versus City College of New York.  The match will be on the campus of Nyack College and can also be seen live via the internet at http://www.pennatlantic.com/main.php.

  Rockville Centre, NY – Recently, the Nyack College women’s soccer program competed against  Molloy College in a Thursday afternoon preseason soccer match.  The match was the first preseason competition for both sides during the 2010 campaign.    After working through the nervous few minutes and getting past the early season anxiety, Briana Meyers got the Lady Warriors on the board early with a very well played ball delivered past the Molloy keeper inside the 18.   First year Nyack Head Coach Bill Findley was pleased with Meyers.  “We had just moved Bri from outside mid to inside and within a few minutes she found herself with the ball at her feet in perfect position to score.  She kept her composure well and simply hit it on a dime for a winner.  Absolutely beautiful shot that got us to relax a bit after being under pressure by Molloy.”   The rest of the first half was a battle on both ends of the pitch and the teams had to endure a tough environment with the heat really coming up through the turf field along with temperatures in the high 80’s.   Nyack Goalkeeper Shannon McNeeley made a number of solid saves to keep the Warriors ahead at the half.   However, much to the chagrin of Nyack, Molloy came out in the 2nd half and capitalized on a defensive error within the first 2 minutes to notch the score.       Findley shared his concerns about the tying goal.  “We had just talked at halftime about coming out focused and relaxed during the first 5 minutes of the half since that is a time when teams can be vulnerable if not careful.  No sooner had the referee blown his whistle than we were picking the ball up out from the back of the net.  Tough lesson to be learned but better now than at a critical point during the regular season.”   For the next 20 minutes of the 2nd half the match had good rhythm and pace back and forth with both teams narrowly missing a number of scoring opportunities.   However, the Lady Warrior’s persistence and determination paid off late in the match with a goal each by Susanna Bicknell and Alisha Smith.   “Both 2nd half goals were spectacular and could not have come at better times.  It appeared that we were about to buckle at the knees a few times by the offensive pressure we were being subjected to from Molloy.  Bick did a great job all match in her attacking mid role and due to her strong resolve she was able to find the back of the net with a gorgeous shot.”   “Alisha’s goal was a direct result of great defensive pressure in the midfield by double-teaming a Molloy player 60 yards from goal.  We win the ball with 2 very hard tackles and quickly send the ball through on transition to Alisha and she buries it with a bullet from the right side of the goal about 25 yards out.  That goal seemed to have broken Molloy’s will to compete any longer and we came away with a hard won victory.”   Undoubtedly, Molloy was a very talented side with solid technical skill and tactical awareness.  But throughout the 90-minute match the Nyack women played with heart and soul and did enough positive things to disrupt the game plan Molloy was trying to incorporate.   “Our kids left it all on the field today and for that I am extremely proud.  Without question, we learned a lot about ourselves during the match and look forward to getting back to some training sessions in order to work out some issues before our next scrimmage,” Findley stated.  “However, I have never been more pleased with a team as I am with my girls today.  I believe we are on the right track and the team is growing and improving each day!”   The team will play 2 more preseason scrimmages over the next 10 days.  The first will be Saturday August 28th versus Medgar Evers College and the final one will be on Monday August 30th versus CCNY.  Both scrimmages will be held on the campus of Nyack College.    The first 2010 regular season match will be versus Stonehill College in Easton, MA on Thursday September 2nd with a kick-off time of 4:00 p.m.   Follow the Nyack Women’s Soccer Team all season long at www.nyackcollege.edu/athletics.

Follow the Nyack Women's Soccer Team as they take on Medgar Evans in their second scrimmage of the year,  live this Saturday at 2 PM. The scrimmage will be broadcast at   http://www.pennatlantic.com/main.php